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Economic, energy, and environmental impacts of alcohol dehydration technology on biofuel production from brown algae

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  • Fasahati, Peyman
  • Liu, J. Jay

Abstract

This study evaluates the impact of alcohol recovery technology on the economics, energy consumption, and environment of bioethanol production from brown algae. The process under consideration is the anaerobic digestion of brown algae to produce VFAs (volatile fatty acids), which are then hydrogenated to produce mixed alcohols. Three alternative processes, i.e., hybrid pervaporation/distillation (PV), hybrid vapor-permeation/distillation (VP), and classical molecular-sieves/distillation (classical), are considered for the dehydration and recovery of ethanol. The alternatives are analyzed in terms of product value (i.e., minimum ethanol selling price – MESP), capital costs, energy consumption, and carbon footprint. For a plant scale of 400,000 ton/year of dry brown algae, the MESPs for the PV (Pervaporation), VP (vapor permeation), and classical processes were calculated to be $1.06/gal, $1.08/gal, and $1.24/gal, respectively. Results show that the PV, VP, and classical processes have $2.0, $2.6, and $4.6 million/year utility costs, respectively, for the recovery of alcohols and produce 23.1, 30.2, and 62.2 kton CO2-eq/year greenhouse gases. Therefore, PV is more economical and environmentally friendly process, with lower MESP, CO2 emissions, and utility requirements. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the selling price of the heavier alcohols and biomass price have the highest impact on the economics of bioethanol production from brown algae.

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  • Fasahati, Peyman & Liu, J. Jay, 2015. "Economic, energy, and environmental impacts of alcohol dehydration technology on biofuel production from brown algae," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P2), pages 2321-2336.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:93:y:2015:i:p2:p:2321-2336
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.10.123
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    7. Zeb, Hassan & Choi, Jaeyeon & Kim, Yunje & Kim, Jaehoon, 2017. "A new role of supercritical ethanol in macroalgae liquefaction (Saccharina japonica): Understanding ethanol participation, yield, and energy efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 116-126.
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    10. Kouhgardi, Esmaeil & Zendehboudi, Sohrab & Mohammadzadeh, Omid & Lohi, Ali & Chatzis, Ioannis, 2023. "Current status and future prospects of biofuel production from brown algae in North America: Progress and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    11. Shokrkar, Hanieh & Keighobadi, Amin, 2022. "Effect of fluid hydrodynamic situations on enzymatic hydrolysis of mixed microalgae: Experimental study and simulation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    12. Hassan, Muhammad & Umar, Muhammad & Ding, Weimin & Mehryar, Esmaeil & Zhao, Chao, 2017. "Methane enhancement through co-digestion of chicken manure and oxidative cleaved wheat straw: Stability performance and kinetic modeling perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 2314-2320.
    13. Jambo, Siti Azmah & Abdulla, Rahmath & Mohd Azhar, Siti Hajar & Marbawi, Hartinie & Gansau, Jualang Azlan & Ravindra, Pogaku, 2016. "A review on third generation bioethanol feedstock," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 756-769.
    14. Fasahati, P. & Dickson, R. & Saffron, C.M. & Woo, H.C. & Liu, J. Jay, 2022. "Seaweeds as a sustainable source of bioenergy: Techno-economic and life cycle analyses of its biochemical conversion pathways," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).

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